Āpa (Vasu)
Āpa, “the waters”
Āpa has other meanings too: see all meanings of Āpa.
Āpa is one of the eight Vasus. In the Brahma Purāṇa, Lomaharshaṇa tells the munis that Daksha gave ten of his daughters to Dharma, and that of Vasu, one of them, were born the Vasus. The eight famous Vasus are Āpa, Dhruva, Soma, Dhava, Anila, Anala, Pratyūsha and Prabhāsa. Āpa’s sons are counted as Vaitaṇḍya, Śrama, Śānta and Muni.
Among the eight Vasus
The ten wives of Dharma were Arundhatī, Vasu, Yāmi, Lambā, Bhānu, Marutvatī, Saṅkalpā, Muhūrtā, Sādhyā and Viśvā, and Vasu’s sons were the Vasus. Of the eight, the text gives the sons of each:
- Āpa: Vaitaṇḍya, Śrama, Śānta and Muni.
- Dhruva: Kāla Bhagavān, by whom time is reckoned in the world.
- Soma: Varcas, also called Varcasvī.
- Dhava, by Manoharā: Draviṇa, Hutahavyavaha, Śiśira, Prāṇa and Ramaṇa.
- Anila, by Śivā: Manojava and Avijñātagati.
- Anala: Kumāra, who shone in a clump of reeds, with his younger brothers Śākha, Viśākha and Naigameya.
- Pratyūsha: the ṛshi Devala.
- Prabhāsa, the eighth, by the sister of Bṛhaspati: Viśvakarmā Prajāpati.
Source: Brahma Purāṇa, Chapter 3
Sources
- Brahma Purāṇa, Chapter 3